New UK civil service internship scheme open only to working-class students
A new civil service internship scheme will be open only to working-class students as part of a drive to make Whitehall better reflect the country, the government has said,The programme will give students from lower-income backgrounds the chance to apply for paid government placements,The definition of working class will be based on what jobs were held by their parents when the applicant was 14 and replaces an existing programme open to all,The Cabinet Office minister, Pat McFadden, said the action was being taken because applicants from lower socioeconomic backgrounds were less likely to get a place on the so-called fast stream,“We need to get more working-class young people into the civil service so it harnesses the broadest range of talent and truly reflects the country,” he said.
“Government makes better decisions when it represents and understands the people we serve.“I want to open up opportunities for students from all backgrounds, and in every corner of the UK, so they can take a leading role at the heart of government as we rewire the state and deliver the plan for change.”The two-month summer programme will give 200 undergraduates the opportunity to work in a civil service department from next year, with applications starting this October.Their placement work could include planning events, writing briefings for ministers, shadowing senior civil servants and carrying out research for policy development.They will also be allocated a “buddy” who is a current fast-streamer and get access to skills sessions.
Participants who perform well will be fast-tracked to the final stages of the fast-stream selection process if they decide to apply for a job after graduation.There is a standard government definition of someone’s socioeconomic status based on parental occupation, worked out under criteria from the Office for National Statistics.The main question is whether the highest earner in the household when a person was 14 was: a modern professional such as a teacher or nurse; clerical such as a secretary; senior manager; technical worker such as a motor mechanic; semi-routine manual such as a postal worker or security guard; routine manual such as a van driver or cleaner; junior/middle manager such as a publican or retail supervisor; or in a traditional professional occupations such as an accountant or solicitor.Other questions involve whether the highest earning parent was employed or self-employed, and whether they supervised others.People with parents whose occupations were receptionist, electrician, plumber or van driver would be likely to qualify as working class.
The most recent data shows only about one in 10 successful applicants to the fast-stream graduate programme come from the lowest income backgrounds.The fast-stream programme was suspended briefly in 2023 as a cost-cutting measure but has since been reinstated.Sign up to First EditionOur morning email breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what’s happening and why it mattersafter newsletter promotionDave Penman, the general secretary of the FDA union for senior civil servants, said the changes to the summer internships to increase the number of working class people entering the civil service were welcome but the government could also improve progression through civil service grades for that demographic.Sarah Atkinson, the chief executive of the Social Mobility Foundation, said she was “delighted by the government’s decision to ringfence internship opportunities for students from lower-income backgrounds”.“We know that talent is everywhere, but opportunity is not, and sometimes bold action is needed to create a truly level playing field,” she said.
However, the Conservatives appeared less happy.Kemi Badenoch said: “Under my leadership, a Conservative government would scrap all this rubbish and just hire the best people.”Ministers have pledged to cut the size of the civil service, with tens of thousands of roles estimated to go over the coming years.New figures show it has grown to a 20-year high of almost 550,000 people as of March this year, with most manager level or above and the growth attributed to more operational frontline roles.
Yorkshire and Glamorgan wins shake up tables: county cricket – as it happened
Wins for Glamorgan at the top end of Division Two, and Yorkshire at the bottom end of Division One, spruces things up nicely as the County Championship slips into the wings for August.Glamorgan’s first Championship victory at Old Trafford since 1993 left them sitting pretty in the second promotion spot behind Leicestershire. Rain had wiped out most of the morning’s cricket but the visiting bowlers stuck to their task against Lancashire, Asitha Fernando producing a juicy inswinging yorker to get rid of Tom Bailey and Ben Kellaway persuading Chris Green, the saviour of Cheltenham, to top-edge a sweep. Glamorgan cemented their victory when Jimmy Anderson was bowled by Mason Crane – who hopped on the team coach with nine for 126 in the match.A Scarborough, a 22-point hoopla lifted Yorkshire clear of the immediate relegation zone
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Itoje leads Lions on history chase with echoes of former Sydney glories in air
Australia will have other ideas but Andy Farrell’s team are intent on sealing the clean sweep with a triumph that would stand the test of timeAs the 2025 British & Irish Lions prepare for their last hurrah there are distant echoes of former glories in the damp Sydney air. A highly respected English lock forward leading out a history-chasing team in the same stadium which staged the 2003 Rugby World Cup final? It is not the worst of precedents for Maro Itoje as he and his modern-day Lions await their third and final date with destiny.Itoje and his squad would also dearly love to rekindle memories of another significant contest in this city. The decisive concluding Test of the 2013 Lions series was a classic example of a touring side saving its best until last, with a tiring Wallaby side eventually losing 41-16 after a certain assistant coach called Andy Farrell had urged the players to take their hosts to “the hurt arena”.This time around, among other things, Farrell has been invoking the never-say-die ethos of the Irish boxer Katie Taylor, who was asked to record a few motivational words for the Lions
England squander chance to take control as tetchy final Test heads for close finish
Day two at the Oval was played in fast forward and when England are batting this tends to mean one of two things: either the scoreboard spinning like wheels on a fruit machine and pigeons flying to all parts, or the regular clank of spikes up and down the dressing room stairs.There was a fair bit of both, as it happened, plus tempers once again fraying, as the crowd witnessed a bun fight unfold out in the middle. But while India were initially skittled for 224 by the completion of Gus Atkinson’s fourth five-wicket haul in Test cricket, England then folded to 247 all out and an opportunity to take full control had gone begging.The injury Chris Woakes sustained on day one not only ruined his Ashes but it also left England a bowler down in this series finale. As well as needing to give the remainder of the attack time off their feet, this meant securing a decent lead
England v India: fifth men’s cricket Test, day two – as it happened
Ali Martin’s reportThe end of a pretty remarkable day at The Oval. Only 75 overs were bowled, but in that time we saw 342 runs, 16 wickets and thousands of Thorpey headbands.India, who looked a beaten team during a bruising the morning session, showed extraordinary resilience to fight back and then edge ahead in the game. They were inspired by Mohammed Siraj, who took out England’s entire middle order across two superb spells.England need something similar from Gus Atkinson, Josh Tongue or Jamie Overton tomorrow morning
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Friday morning at the Oval, and the ground reverberates to a unique but not unfamiliar sound, the baritone rumble of thousands of pained groans. It was prompted by replays on the ground’s big screens of a particular kind of delivery with a very specific outcome, on this occasion bowled by Akash Deep. The ball flicked off the inside of Ben Duckett’s thigh before crashing remorselessly into, well, the next part of his anatomy that it reached, and with agonising results.The game was paused for several minutes while the pain subsided and the opener regained his composure (the blow certainly didn’t make him at all cautious, and by the end of that one over Duckett had survived a review for lbw, skipped down the track and missed completely with a wild swing, seen a leading edge drop short of gully and reverse-scooped for six).On Thursday evening a very different sound had been heard, Chris Woakes’ cries of pain after he landed awkwardly on his left shoulder having flicked a ball back from the boundary edge, close to the press box at the Vauxhall End
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